Daily Moan

[Luigi]

What I want to know is how do these kids know/identify they have the talent for this shit.
Do they just by chance pick up a drumstick or do their parents stick them on a chair in front of the drums?

Most likely comes naturally.

He was probably constantly banging on stuff with a perfect rhythm, especially when music was playing, and the parents nurtured that.

[jabir]

There are usually 2-5 kids in the pool. The farangs don't need to be watched though we do anyway, while the Thais invariably cannot swim and also don't appear to understand the dangers of leaving the shallow end without a prop, so they do need to be watched very closely. One pair of Thai brothers (5+3yrs) in particular, non-swim regulars, are brought over by dad, a teacher, and left for a couple of hours till he returns to pick them up.

The young one's ok, stays shallow or wears a ring. But over several weeks, on every visit without fail I have had to repeatedly ask, shout at, warn and threaten the older one to stay at the shallow steps end. While he wants to learn to swim, which is good, he ventures beyond his depth and then scrambles back to the steps, so one eye must be on him at all times. Anyone been through this will know it's stressful, and not for me. What's worse, he also likes to cling to the edge of the pool all the way round, sometimes letting go to dip his head under for a few seconds, or even taking a couple of strokes away and back. I have told his dad through wifey that he must not do this because it's dangerous, and he can cling and duck his head or take a few strokes at the shallow end if he absolutely refuses to wear a ring. Or, instead of disappearing for a couple of hours dad can get in there and teach him or just play but either way take over the responsibility. Of course nobody listens.

Yesterday four of them, two noisy farangs c7-8 and these two Thais. I saw a rubber sealing ring from a pool light by the side of the pool, so I picked it up and asked who did it; both farangs said they had seen one of the Thais prising it off but weren't sure which. It was probably the younger; earlier on he was excitedly calling my attention to something he was fidgeting with underwater by that light, which was just by a jacuzzi nozzle, so I thought he wanted me to turn the jacuzzi on, which I didn't, and which may well have saved his brother's life because, as I turned to call wifey over to find the culprit there was a huge stream of bubbles coming up a couple of metres away, looked closer and it was the older Thai, face down at the bottom of the pool kicking his legs and flailing arms but he wasn't going anywhere having panicked and emptied his lungs.

I dived in fully clothed and grabbed his arm to yank him up. Few gulps and he seemed ok, dragged him to the shallow end, he thought that was fun and started going round again!

At that point I gave up, told wifey to take over, get them out of the pool and tell their dad they're not going in again without strapped vests; she said that's no good because vests cost money, I said something unprintable and went inside to dry off, throw out my tobacco pouch and papers, and try to resuscitate my phone which was in my pocket and now stone dead; watch looks ok, isn't waterproof and never been in water before but for now still ticking.

Dad arrives, she tells him what happened, he nods but doesn't seem at all put out, not even a thumbs up to me, by then the kids had showered and dressed so he gathered them up and left.

I guess that justifies one moan...but it doesn't end there; anyone care to guess what happens next?











Here's a couple of mind benders for the lifers:

Did she tell him about my phone?
If not why not?

[bowie]

Well, Jabir - good on ya. Phone lost, life saved, more than a fair trade.

Thai parenting skills - well, same world round - there are good and there are bad, mixed bag regardless of nationality. The real problem is anyone can be a parent, no license required.

[bowie]

My moan - phone rings

THEM: True TV, we need to change your box. Is tomorrow OK?
yes
THEM: What time would you like us to be there?
first thing in the morning, the earlier the better.
THEM: OK we'll be there at 5 PM.

And no, it wasn't miscommunication.

[jabir]

Well, Jabir - good on ya. Watch lost, life saved, more than a fair trade.

Thai parenting skills - well, same world round - there are good and there are bad, mixed bag regardless of nationality. The real problem is anyone can be a parent, no license required.

Seen it happen before, right next to me at a communal pool, about 6-7 kids playing with balls and toys as they dived and resurfaced, but when it goes wrong they drop in seconds, quietly and without a struggle, empty lungs, sink and stay. In that case I tried to grab a limb and missed due to refraction which stirred the water pointing against another grab attempt, so I had to find her with my feet.

For sure I won't be responsible for any more non-swimmers, parents can and should do the honours.

[David48atTD]

^^^^ jabir ... great story.

As soon as I read the bit where you jumped in, I immediately thought Phone and electronic car keys.

[bowie]

they drop in seconds, quietly and without a struggle

Yup, instantly and without forewarning - Well, you did save a life and enough cannot be said concerning that fact. Heartfelt Thanks.

[bowie]

Here's a couple of mind benders for the lifers:

Did she tell him about my phone?
If not why not?

Well, back to you Jabir, did your better half tell "Dad" about your phone?

As far as the watch is concerned, they're usually good to a few meters submersed - provided the seal hasn't been compromised.

Ran it by my wife - she has no idea. Told her, well, the boy would have died if you hadn't of intervened. Her response - phones are very expensive, why did he (you) jump in the water with your phone?

Kinda like, well, Phones are very expensive, life is not so much - just forget it, I'll never be able to fathom the depths their (Thai) logic. Fortunately for myself I gave up trying to solve that mystery decades ago - and probably saved my sanity.

Anyway - what happens next, let us know. You may actually receive a "thanks". Wouldn't count on it, but, ya never know.

[jabir]

They call it 'grenjai', nearest translation I can think of is 'consideration for others', while another meaning is to kowtow to someone of superior status or let them know you don't mind being crapped on; proficient expats might have a more accurate description.

Fex, if you as a Thai insult or offend or say or do something that causes another Thai to lose face or feel uncomfortable, you're a cnut, even if what you do or say is perfectly reasonable.

No end of examples, though my first experience of this cultural lunacy 18 years ago sums it up nicely; in a store, couldn't find whatever, asked my live in gf to ask an assistant where we could find it. Sounds reasonable enough. To my surprise she refused, and kept refusing several times giving no reason, which to me at that time was more than a bit weird as we had the guy's attention and he was standing right in front of us. Only when this silly situation developed into and beyond an argument to dumping her, did she finally explain tearfully that if she asked the assistant and the guy didn't know, he would lose face for not knowing, while she would be guilty of some horrible sin for causing his discomfort, adding in anger that I'm the bad guy for making her cry. Anyone getting off on this shit, you're welcome, but don't lay it on me.

So in short, had wifey told him about the phone she risks making him feel obliged to buy me a new one or at least contribute, either of which would hurt him financially, while if he simply shrugged it off they would both lose face, but to avoid such complications if she doesn't mention it at all she enjoys the emotional comfort with which grenjai rewards a good Thai, and somewhere along one of the life cycles will earn coupons or merit points or repo.

Pissed off? - sure I am, and hope the pc nuts in Europe don't include Thai culture when they talk of cultural enrichment!

[jabir]

On second thoughts, all of the previous post may be redundant if she considers the dead phone is entirely down to me for not taking it out of my pocket before jumping in.

Some things we will never know.

[ootai]

jabir
In future when you are babysitting these kids in the pool for their Dad make sure you don't have your phone in your pocket.
you should have somewhere close by where you sit and watch them, because you have nothing else to do, and where you can place your phone on the table which is nearby.
Also make sure you are dressed appropriately as a pool attendant ready to jump in and save whoever needs to be saved.

So in the end it was all your fault because you weren't prepared.

[nidhogg]

On second thoughts, all of the previous post may be redundant if she considers the dead phone is entirely down to me for not taking it out of my pocket before jumping in.

Some things we will never know.

She is Thai. She will hold both thoughts simultaneously - plus another three, probably.

Just accept that everything is your fault, and move on.

[AntRobertson]

Not for the first time even this week alone I have again spilled tea on my trousers giving the impression I have pissed myself.

Clearly something wrong with my tea-drinking technique.

[Bogon]

Back to the pool story.

If you can grab the CCTV, then get hold of a copy and give it to the dad to view.

Some not so bright people need visual clues to actually comprehend the situation.

[OhOh]

you should have somewhere close by where you sit and watch them, because you have nothing else to do, and where you can place your phone on the table which is nearby.
Also make sure you are dressed appropriately as a pool attendant ready to jump in and save whoever needs to be saved.

One suspects he would be found guilty of failing to perform his "assumed" duties, if anything untoward happened.

When my young children were being taught how to swim, by pool employed teachers, in the 200mm deep babies pool in the UK. They were watched by my wife from the seats. I would swim with my older children in the large, long and 1.5 - 4m deep "swimmers" pool.

After the lessons my younger kids would join us and I watched over them in the pool and played along with their games and being shown their latest achievements.

Occasionally there would be provided floating "bouncy castle type platforms" tied in position, at the shallow end, which were supervised by the official pool safety minders. My younger kids obviously wanted to play on them, which they did, but I watched over them. To get involved with other kids safety would put me in an awkward position if they got into difficulties. Not than any did, the "must be obeyed" official minders did manage their behaviour from the side with whistles and words.

[jabir]

Back to the pool story.

If you can grab the CCTV, then get hold of a copy and give it to the dad to view.

Some not so bright people need visual clues to actually comprehend the situation.

Thanks, good idea and I hope to get around to setting up a cam over the pool.

[jabir]

One suspects he would be found guilty of failing to perform his "assumed" duties, if anything untoward happened.

When my young children were being taught how to swim, by pool employed teachers, in the 200mm deep babies pool in the UK. They were watched by my wife from the seats. I would swim with my older children in the large, long and 1.5 - 4m deep "swimmers" pool.

After the lessons my younger kids would join us and I watched over them in the pool and played along with their games and being shown their latest achievements.

Occasionally there would be provided floating "bouncy castle type platforms" tied in position, at the shallow end, which were supervised by the official pool safety minders. My younger kids obviously wanted to play on them, which they did, but I watched over them. To get involved with other kids safety would put me in an awkward position if they got into difficulties. Not than any did, the "must be obeyed" official minders did manage their behaviour from the side with whistles and words.

Lesson there too, while a communal pool usually has minders, there's nothing to beat the attention of parents.

I hadn't really thought about it before so it didn't strike me until after the event, but responsibility over other parents' kids is something I won't be doing from here on in. They're welcome to dip, but not under my watch.

Similar thing happened last month, trampolining at Harbor with my youngest and a neighbour's kid that fell awkwardly and hurt his back, fortunately just long enough for a whine and some sympathy. Obviously nobody's fault, accidents do happen, though I still felt somehow responsible. Won't be doing that again, either.

[Dillinger]

^ Yeah you will.

Next time take all your clothes off before diving in to save them.

Once the parents get wind of that, the pool attendance should dissipate and you will soon have the pool to yourself

[jabir]

perfect solution!

[Troy]

This nearly turned into a moan but all ended up fine...

UK visa site says I can take wife home without visa if she has EU card and escorted by me. I tried it in July, using the ferry, with success although we had a short hold up while they checked. Today we flew to London. Munich was okay after a consultation with supervisor...Heathrow took a little more convincing. We had to wait in the investigation section for 20 minutes or so but they were very polite and provided a nice stamp for the wife's passport.

That should see us through to the end of next year. Main worry is having to return to UK urgently if Dad has a turn for the worse.

[OhOh]

escorted by me.

Your bedroom handcuffs finally found a use?

[Troy]

^ As with many, I have to admit I'm pretty useless without the wife looking after things. I'm back safe in Germany now with nothing left behind thanks to Mrs Troy.

The episode at border control was interesting and I'm thankful I was in formal attire. The first official was a young Indian lady who admitted she wasn't sure of the rules. Her supervisor was a middle aged West Indian who was sure he knew the rules and wife could not enter. I was smugly calm and merely suggested they went higher until they got the law right. All credit to the Indian lass though, she was almost English with her: ' I'm sure you're right but I need to check or I may lose my job' approach.

I went to see Mousetrap as it has been running as long as I have. Very entertaining and I told the wife whodunnit correctly at the interval. Made my weekend.

There were five couples of various origin waiting in the investigation area so I guess they get busy due to not knowing the rules their masters try to enforce..

...and yet again returning to the EU so no immigration and no exit stamp. How can the government determine EU immigration numbers without exit control?

[Mendip]

^ The first time I traveled to the UK with the wife (entered on her Aussie passport so I think she got 6 months), when we left from Bristol Airport I remember looking around for the non existent immigration to get her passport stamped. It had never crossed my mind before. As you say, how on earth to they monitor immigration with no exit control.

[Mendip]

I'm feeling pretty shitty today.

There seems to be a fluey bug going round my daughter's school and I've been nailed by it. Last night, while tossing and turning with a fever, one of my left toe nails kept snagging on the sheet and was driving me mad.

Toe nail cutting seems to be yet another act of intimacy from my wife that has gone by the wayside, so I decided to sort it out meself this morning. This is no easy task when you're carrying extra weight, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone while sitting on the throne.

Unfortunately the distance between my eyes and toes seems to be right in between the range of my 'computer' glasses and my 'normal' glasses, and while blindly stabbing about I clipped a chunk off the top of one of my toes.

Bloody hurts it does.

[nidhogg]

Unfortunately the distance between my eyes and toes seems to be right in between the range of my 'computer' glasses and my 'normal' glasses, a

555. Thought that was just me. Ageing is a bastard.